NEWS RELEASE
Immediate Release                                                                                        March 22nd, 2012

Stellar Line-up of Speakers for Veal, Goat, Rabbit AGMs
Comedian Derek Edwards to headline banquet.

GUELPH, Ont. – Ontario Veal, Ontario Goat and Ontario Rabbit, all partners of the Ontario Livestock Alliance, are excited about the stellar line-up of speakers slated for the upcoming Joint Annual General Meetings and Producer Education Day on Wednesday April 11th at the Stratford Rotary Complex.

In addition to the traditional Annual General Meeting business portion, each organization has planned a series of educational seminars with expert speakers, covering a wide range of topics. “It is a packed agenda for each of the organizations and the speakers all offer a tremendous value to our members in terms of education and industry awareness,” stated Executive Director Jennifer Haley.

Headlining the luncheon banquet is comedian Derek Edwards, a Timmins, Ontario native.  Edwards is known for his laid back, rural humour and will surely provide lots of laugh and great entertainment for the members of the Ontario Livestock Alliance. Agriculture can be a serious business and sometimes we need to take a break and relieve some of that stress. They say laughter is the best medicine!

Veal producers can learn more about the Halal market and what Halal consumers are looking for in their food products. Haider Khattak, from IFANCA Canada, will give an overview of the growing Halal market and what the requirements are to meet Halal standards and certification. “The veal market relies on a steady Halal customer but very little is known about what exactly it is that they are looking for,” stated Industry Development Manager Kendra Keels. She added that this presentation will help producers better understand this market and the opportunities that exist for the veal industry.

Goat producers will definitely not want to miss Tony Dutra, CEO of Woolwich Dairy and Bruce Vandenberg, President of Mariposa Dairy discuss their vision for the future of the Ontario goat industry. 
“Tony and Bruce are very supportive of the development of the Ontario goat industry and Ontario Goat as an organization and they want to share their insights with producers,” said Haley. “This presentation will be a great opportunity to have a dialogue with these industry leaders,” she added.

Many of Ontario’s rabbit producers are trying to build their own local markets for rabbit meat. “Rabbit producers want to capture a bigger piece of the pie and create value with the consumer by selling direct,” said Keels. A producer panel will be on hand to talk about their successes in building local markets and what rabbit producers need to know about maximizing the potential for this marketing opportunity.

Another key highlight will be the important updates that each of Ontario Veal, Ontario Goat and Ontario Rabbit will provide their members about their respective proposals to be recognized under the Farm Products Marketing Act.

“2011 was a very busy year and this year’s AGM will be another important industry milestone,” said Haley. “Every veal, goat and rabbit producer should attend this meeting in order to really understand what is being proposed. It is important that they are fully informed and aware of what the next steps will be for their commodity organization.”
The Joint Annual General Meetings and Producer Education day is gearing up to be an informative and entertaining day with top notch speakers. For the complete speaker line up and more details about this event please visit www.ontarioveal.on.ca; www.ontariogoat.ca; or www.ontariorabbit.ca.

The Ontario Livestock Alliance is a partnership between the Ontario Veal Association, Ontario Goat and Ontario Rabbit with the goal of providing outstanding service to our respective members. The Ontario Veal Association proudly serves Ontario’s grain-fed and milk-fed veal farmers. Ontario Goat represents Ontario’s milk, meat and fibre goat farmers with a united voice. Ontario Rabbit is committed to developing and enhancing Ontario’s progressive rabbit sector.

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For more information please contact:
Kendra Keels, Industry Development Manager
Tel: (519) 824-2942
kkeels@livestockalliance.ca